Cancer treatments have improved greatly throughout the past century with the development of various therapies including surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Chemotherapy remains one of the most common treatments for cancer. New chemotherapy drugs and combination chemotherapy drug regimens are constantly being developed and tested to increase potency and reduce side-effects. However, hair loss (alopecia) remains an important concern for people undergoing traditional chemotherapy.
Hair loss commonly occurs in patients undergoing chemotherapy because while chemotherapy drugs target rapidly growing cancer cells, the drugs also affect other rapidly growing cells such as the cells in the hair follicles. As a result, chemotherapy often causes a patient's hair to fall out individually and/or in clumps.
Scalp hypothermia or cryotherapy has been used with varying degrees of success to reduce hair loss. During chemotherapy, ice packs or cooling packs are applied to the patient's head in order to slow blood flow to the scalp. However, the ice packs can be uncomfortable and cause headaches.
There is a need for new methods of reducing hair loss in patients undergoing traditional chemotherapy that are easier to administer than ice and cooling packs, have less side effects, and are more effective.